PMH HealthBeat

Since June, the Rural Health Clinic at Pocahontas Memorial Hospital has been offering patients full Sunday hours. We are now open Sunday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

This is incredibly convenient for patients who work out of town during the week, or just for minor medical concerns that may occur on the weekend. The Rural Health Clinic is a family medical practice, offering care for patients of all ages and conditions.

The Rural Health Clinic asks that you call ahead to make an appointment. Limited same day appointments are available. If you do not have a regular Primary Care Provider (or PCP), PMH’s Rural Health Clinic (RHC) is accepting new patients and encourages you to schedule an appointment today with one of its providers. A Primary Care Provider is a healthcare practitioner, such as a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, who sees patients who have common medical problems.

Well child checks are a routine part of life, but teens and adults often neglect seeing a provider until they are sick. However, even healthy active people with no health conditions need to routinely see a healthcare provider.

The RHC encourages people of ALL ages to establish a relationship with a primary care provider. We often feel we are “wasting” a provider’s time by scheduling an appointment when we are not sick, but that is simply not true. Whether you suffer from something as simple as a cold or just have general questions about health issues, PCPs want to see you.

Having a PCP ensures that someone is regularly watching your health and looking for patterns that might indicate problems. Simple routine testing during a regular visit can uncover potential problems that might go unnoticed for years, leading to more serious issues later on.

For people with chronic diseases, the importance of having a PCP cannot be stressed enough. Patients who have a PCP experience better management of their chronic diseases, lower overall healthcare costs, and a higher level of satisfaction with their care. PCPs help coordinate a patient’s care all in one place – if you need further testing or an appointment with a specialist, the PCP will schedule that.

The RHC’s goal is to be your partner in healthcare and is committed to making available a personal provider who takes care of all your healthcare needs. This includes coordinating your care across all settings – the medical office, hospital, specialty clinics, testing facilities or other places you would receive healthcare.